Your comments and tips

12 Mar 12, Sue Averay (Australia - temperate climate)

I ran an okra trial in my Adelaide eastern suburbs garden this year. Best spot by far is on eastern fence with plenty of afternoon sun, second best on southern wall of house with morning sun from north and afternoon dappled shade. Planted out seeds in November, slow germination through our cool early summer, really took off in late January and are fruiting well. I give them fortnightly Powerfeed. No sign of disease, despite humid spells, and very tolerant of a few days without water.

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18 Mar 12, Rob (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Fantastic results for okra here in Brisbane as well! We grow them every year and eat them in a lot of cooking. No problem except for the caterpillar from the moth similar to cabbage moth - really does the plant in fast! Spray with white oil and watch for the signs of leaves being stripped - the holes are the grasshoppers!

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20 Feb 12, Brian (Australia - temperate climate)

Alternatives to Pyretherum to deal with Perth bugs. What can I make up as low cost option?

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01 Feb 12, Silversurfer (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I had great success planting early crop of Okra in 2011. I use the Burgundy Okra which is somewhat cold tolerant (Eden Seeds). I soaked seeds in warm water for 2 hours and heated up the ground or seed tray prior to planting (clear plastic) and maintained greenhouse conditions with a portable cover (very easy low cost cover) = significant increase in propagation. I cropped and ate these for 2 months and followed up by planting green Star of David Okra. Same method produced great propagation results BUT I have a problem with these at harvest. I'm hoping someone has an answer. The Star of David sprouted the fattest Okra Ive ever seen. I thought Id managed to grow giant Okra yet no matter how short I picked them they remained too hard to eat - huge unusable crop - I only collected seeds. U guys got any answers? I will plant a late summer crop of Burgundy Okra that can survive longest into winter. Combining the use of cold tolerant and green Okra I hope to crop for 8 months a year.

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28 Jan 12, Raelene (Australia - temperate climate)

I got okra seeds from an Asian grocery store - pretty common in Adelaide. Planted seeds trays in Oct, only 3 survived out of 50 seeds planted, stayed about 3 inches for 1 month (Adelaide had cool start to summer this year). My mum ("certified" green thumb) came visiting in Dec, she put out maybe 20 seeds direct into garden bed, almost all seeds came up with many 3 inches tall in 1 week. (She also stuck 10 corn seeds from the chook feed into another bed, all came up in 1 week). So my tip, find someone with a green thumb (if you aren't that yourself) and invite them over for a meal at specific planting times and hand them the packets of seeds!

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20 Jan 12, Wendy (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Find a permaculture group in your area and they are sure to have seeds or cutting. It is a survivasl food. 27.6% protien in the leaves.

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12 Jan 12, Aju (Australia - temperate climate)

Have planted 6 okra plants in the veggie patch in Perth and they have started fruiting with one or two pods per plant whilst they are about 12 cms high. So far so good and have read that i need to hang on till they are about 40 cms high before they really take off. What do we do over winter months in Perth? Are they hardy enough to just let them be and will they survive or do we need to do something to protect them in the open during winter? I'd like to try and keep them through the winter season and see them growing big. Thanks in advance for your suggestions

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19 Feb 12, -Sydney (Australia - temperate climate)

Have you had any issues with bugs i.e caterpillars etc. I have 8 plants and they are around 3 months old, however largely affected by bugs, even the fruits. Any suggestions? Cheers

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27 Dec 11, koyo (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

where can i get okra seeds to buy in australia. Regards, Koyo.

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13 Oct 12, Claudette (Australia - temperate climate)

4seasonsseeds.com.au this was recommended to me which seems good quality seeds they sells ...

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